Wednesday, January 4, 2012

The Personal Economics of Cancer and Financial Planners

As a financial planner, I lost a client to cancer in each of the past two years. Two of my other clients continue their (successful, thus far) cancer treatments. So naturally, as part of my quest to assist them, I have sought out from time to time insights as to their medical conditions, and also illumination as to the effect of the cancer and treatments therefore on the accomplishment (or non-accomplishment, or delay) of each client's personal financial life goals.

Permit me to first observe that I am constantly amazed by technological innovation, particularly in the areas of materials science, renewable energy, and health care. As to the area of health care, we can applaud the continued ability of medical research to fuel longer, healthier lives. For example, new treatments for various forms of cancer have significantly increased cancer survivorship rates over the past two decades.

Yet, despite the important progress to date, especially in the past 40 years (after the enactment of federal legislation spurred on cancer research in the U.S.), cancer remains one of the world’s most serious health problems. In the United States, approximately 500,000 people still die from cancer every year, and the disease is expected to become the nation's leading killer in the years ahead. Worldwide, the number of new cancer cases is projected to rise from 12.7 million in 2008 to more than 20 million by 2030.

While hundreds of promising research endeavors are underway, transferring success from animal trials to human trials is often problematic. Still, dozens of new advances or improvements in cancer treatment or therapy were approved or adopted in 2011. Tantalizing early results offer hope for breakthroughs in treatments (or vaccines) not only for specific forms of cancer but also for broad ranges of various types of cancer.

Given the continued progress, it seems that at times our society inadvertently takes a step or two backward -and unnecessarily. The ongoing shortage of many long-available cancer drugs remains a troubling issue. Some cancer patients die due to the inadequate manufacture of needed amounts of cancer therapies. More troubling is the continued trend of excluding many expensive cancer treatments from health insurance policies.

It is amazing how many cancer patients suffer not only physical stresses, but severe financial (and emotional) stresses, after commencing treatments. One telling indicator - cancer diagnosis is now a known risk factor as to the potential filing of personal bankruptcy.

As financial planners, we may be called upon to assist individuals with the often-dramatic adverse financial consequences of cancer treatments and other forms of medical care. This may often require both our diligence and our creativity, in seeking out resources to ensure our clients will not miss out on care due to financial hardship, and in connecting our clients (and their families) with support organizations.

We can only hope, and pray, that the continued dedication of hundreds of thousands (if not tens of millions) of researchers, physicians, and the supporters of cancer research will soon lead to far-ranging breakthroughs in the "war on cancer." In the meantime, if - as financial planners - we are called upon to assist one or more clients in navigating the shoals (financial and otherwise) of cancer treatments, let each one of us take such matters to heart and apply our fullest capabilities to assist the client in need.

P.S. - One of my students, all of 20 years old, is also engaged in a difficult battle with cancer. A talented kid with a great personality, his courage over the past several months is inspiring.

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About the Author

Ron A. Rhoades, JD, CFP® sailed across the Atlantic on a tall ship, performed in theme parks and road shows in Europe and America as a Disney character, rowed on a championship crew team, marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, marched in competition with a state-champion rifle drill team, undertook a solo one-week trip into the Everglades, escorted numerous celebrities around Central Florida, performed as a “Tin Man” at a mountaintop theme park called “The Land of Oz” in Beech Mountain, NC, and served as a stage manager and talent scheduling coordinator for entertainment productions at Walt Disney World. And then he graduated college.

Since then, Ron Rhoades earned his Juris Doctor degree, with honors, from the University of Florida College of Law, which was preceded by a B.S.B.A. from Florida Southern College. Ron Rhoades has 30 years of experience as an attorney, with nearly all of those years substantially devoted to estate planning, tax planning, and retirement plan distribution planning. Ron also has over 15 years as a personal financial adviser. He was a principal with an investment advisory firm where he served as its Director of Research and Chair of its Investment Committee.

The author of numerous articles published in financial industry publications and several books, Dr. Rhoades has been quoted in numerous consumer and trade publications, and has been interviewed on Bloomberg's "Masters in Business" radio show segment. He writes occasional articles for industry publications. Ron is a frequent speaker at local FPA chapter meetings and national conferences in the financial planning and investment advisory professions.

Ron Rhoades was the recipient of The Tamar Frankel Fiduciary of the Year Award for 2011, from The Committee for the Fiduciary Standard, as he “altered the course of the fiduciary discussion in Washington.” He was also named as one of the Top 25 Most Influential persons associated with the investment advisory profession in 2011 by Investment Advisor magazine, and was voted to the “Sweet 16 Most Influential” in Wealth Management’s 2013 “March Madness” competition. Dr. Rhoades was also named as one of the "Top 30 Most Influential" members in NAPFA's 30-year history in 2013. This blog was also called one of the "Top 25 Most Dangerous" in financial services.

Ron A. Rhoades, JD, CFP® became Program Director for the Financial Planning Program (B.S. Finance, Financial Planning Track) at Western Kentucky University's Gordon Ford School of Business in July 2015. He provides instruction to highly motivated, exceptional undergraduates students in such courses as Applied Investments, Retirement Planning, Estate Planning, and the Personal Financial Planning Capstone course. He has previously taught courses in Insurance & Risk Management, Employee Benefits, Money & Banking, Advanced Investments, and Business Law I and II.

Ron also serves on the Steering Committee of The Committee for the Fiduciary Standard, on whose behalf he frequently travels to Washington, D.C. to meet with policy makers in Congress and in government agencies regarding the application of the fiduciary standard to personalized investment advice.